IT may not be out until later in the year, but Mafia 3 has been backed to become one of 2016's biggest games.

The mob series makes a welcome return to consoles and PC following Mafia 2's release in 2010 and follows the story of Lincoln Clay, a Vietnam war veteran looking to seek revenge on those who murdered his friends in New Orleans.

Mafia 3 was unveiled to the public at Gamescom 2015 and is currently being developed by Hangar 13, a new 2K studio based in California.

However, it is sure to face tough competition from a number of big-name titles coming out in 2016, including No Man's Sky, The Division and Dark Souls 3.

2K

The last game in the series was released in 2010

But Executive Producer Andy Wilson is confident that Mafia 3 can stand toe-to-toe with any other game, explaining that the key to its success will be a strong player base.

He said: "We've actually been looking at it since the launch of the new consoles and it seems that there is a bit more room than there used to be.

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Mafia 3 will be set in New Orleans

"Things are consolidating around bigger titles [and there are] fewer of them overall than we were seeing towards the end of the last generation. I think we've built a game that's just going to stand up there with the best. So I'm not concerned about it in that respect.

"I think by the time we come out in 2016, these new consoles would be very established and you've seen how fast both of them are selling as well. So the opportunity for us there is probably actually much better than it was at the same time in the previous generation.

"So again, I'm a firm believer that if you put a really good game together and you get the right kind of support from the publisher, then you'll find your player base. And we're very much hoping to do that with this as well."